Kaito pushed open the large, polished doors of the Adventurer's Guild, his heart pounding. The scent of aged wood and burning torches filled the air. Inside, warriors and mages clustered around tables, swapping stories and drinks. He stepped forward, trying not to stare too much.
"Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild!" chirped a cheerful voice.
Kaito turned to see a girl with golden hair tied in a neat braid and bright green eyes standing behind the counter. Her name tag read Sophie Clinton.
"I'm Sophie. You here to register?"
"Yeah," Kaito replied, managing a small smile. "I'm Kaito. New to all this."
Sophie beamed. "Excellent! We don't get many newcomers. Before we start, let me explain how things work here."
She placed a small, ornate wooden box on the counter and opened it, revealing glowing crystals.
"This is our Attribute System," she explained. "These crystals assess an adventurer's stats—strength, agility, intelligence, endurance—and determine their rank from F to S. Though, there are rarer classifications…"
Sophie paused, lowering her voice.
"There's also SS-Rank… reserved for legends. People whose abilities break the system."
Kaito swallowed. "Sounds intense."
"Ready?" she asked, holding up one of the crystals.
Kaito nodded.
The moment Sophie placed the crystal in his hand, it began to glow. The light intensified—brighter than anything anyone had seen—and then exploded, sending a shockwave that knocked parchment off desks and chairs scraping across the floor.
A hush fell over the guild.
Sophie stared, mouth agape. "W-What...?"
A grizzled man in chainmail stepped forward. "Never seen a crystal react like that... What's his reading?"
Sophie quickly consulted a ledger and a dusty tome, her fingers trembling. Finally, she looked up.
"Kaito… this is unprecedented. You didn't get a reading because the crystal couldn't measure your power. You're… SS-Rank."
The room burst into gasps and murmurs. Kaito blinked, unsure if he heard right. His gaze flicked to the floating status screen before him:
Name: Kaito
Level: 1
Acquired Power: Fire Dragon
HP: 200
MP: ∞
Strength: ∞
Speed: ∞
Agility: ∞
Intelligence: ∞
"Otaku brain, activate," he muttered, both stunned and thrilled. "This… has to be the Fire Dragon's doing."
Before the adventurers could swarm him, Kaito raised his hands. "Please—I don't want to cause trouble."
The room quieted again. Sophie cleared her throat and gestured for him to follow. "As an SS-Rank adventurer… you need an SS-Rank mission."
She returned moments later with a thick, leather-bound tome. "The Old Diary. It lists missions only the strongest can attempt."
She opened it, flipping to a marked page.
"There are only ten SS-Rank adventurers alive. You're the eleventh. But…" She hesitated. "Kaito, do you possess the Dragon's power?"
"I do. The Fire Dragon," he said proudly.
Sophie's expression dimmed slightly. "I see... That's impressive. But… I was hoping you'd possess something greater. Something… multi-elemental."
"Why? What's going on?"
She exhaled. "There's a prophecy. Only the wielder of the Multi-Elemental Dragon can defeat the Demon King. The Fire Dragon alone may not be enough."
Kaito's face hardened. "Then I'll get stronger. I'll find out what else I can become."
Sophie nodded. "Your first mission is against a powerful enemy: The Dark-Elves' Queen. She's responsible for a series of disappearances—merchants vanishing without a trace."
Kaito accepted the scroll with the mission details. "I'll handle it."
Sophie smiled, though worry lingered behind her eyes. "Good luck, Kaito. The fate of many could rest on your success."
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To be Continued...